By R.L. Bynum
Kennedy Todd-Williams’ first season at Ole Miss hasn’t always gone smoothly, but she put it all together Sunday.
Nearly a year after she scored a career-high 22 points for Carolina in a win at Pittsburgh, Todd-Williams matched that in the Rebels’ 69–59 road win over Georgia.
“It’s a transition, being a transfer,” Todd-Williams said. “I think just really finding my way each day in practices. It’s all paying off, slowly but surely. I felt like this was a really good game for me to turn the page and to keep going with this.”
Todd-Williams, starting for the second time in three games after coming off the bench in the previous seven, scored a 3-pointer on the Rebels’ first possession and had seven points in the opening quarter to help Ole Miss (13–5, 3–2 SEC) take control early.
“Toddy is our hardest worker on the team,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “Toddy has been sowing seeds since she stepped foot on campus, but transfers, they just take awhile. I’ve been telling Toddy, ‘repay yourself for the work that you put in every single day.’ Nobody is more deserving of her having the type of performance she had.”
Todd-Williams scored a career-high 10 field goals, topping her previous best of seven field goals five times for the Tar Heels, and added six rebounds and five assists for a 22.0 game score.
“She took shots we knew she was going to make because we see her shoot them every day,” McPhee-McCuin said. “She was solid defensively and she wants to win. And she has earned the start. I thought it was a great switch up for us and I’m really proud of her.”
Ole Miss was No. 12 in the preseason poll but has been unranked since early December after back-to-back losses.
Caleb Love scored 14 points and two 3-pointers with three rebounds and two assists in No. 12 Arizona’s 77–72 Saturday home win over UCLA. The Wildcats (14–4, 5–2 Pac-12) have won two in a row since losing Jan. 13 at Washington State.
Dontrez Styles notched his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds Friday in Georgetown’s 92–91 loss at Xavier, the third straight loss and sixth in seven games for the Hoyas (8–10, 1–6 Big East).
Puff Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points and pull down seven rebounds in Penn State’s 79–67 Saturday loss at Ohio State. D’Marco Dunn had four points in 22 minutes for the Nittany Lions (9–10, 3–5 Big Ten), who have lost three of their last four games.
Tyler Nickel scored 12 points and three 3-pointers in Saturday’s 84–78 win at N.C. State, his ninth game scoring in double figures this season for the Hokies (11–7, 3–4 ACC) after combining for 14 points in the previous two games, both losses.
Destiny Adams scored 11 points in Rutgers’ 56–50 home loss Sunday to Michigan in the 10th consecutive loss for the Scarlet Knights (6–15, 0–8 Big Ten).
Justin McKoy had seven points and 10 rebounds Saturday in Hawaii’s 67–61 loss at UC San Diego. The Rainbow Warriors (10–9, 2–5 Big West) have lost two in a row and four of their last five.
Kerwin Walton had six points, two 3-pointers and two rebounds in No. 25 Texas Tech’s 85–78 Saturday home win over No. 20 BYU. Next up for the Red Raiders (15–3, 4–1 Big 12) is a visit to No. 15 Oklahoma at 2 p.m. Saturday.
For the second consecutive UAB game, Will Shaver didn’t play. The Blazers (12–6, 4–1 American) won Saturday 69–61 at East Carolina.
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan guard
6–1, 180 pounds | Junior | UNC 2023–25 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting point guard ahead of sophomore L.J. Cason
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 9.6 points, 43.8 FG%, 42.1 3P%, 62.1 FT%, 3.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.4 turnovers
Team record: 14–0, 4–0 Big Ten; Rank: No. 2
Tuesday: No. 2 Michigan 74, (at) Penn State 72 — Started; 27:29, 9 points, 3–8 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, +3
Next game — 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Wisconsin, CBS
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 8.7 points, 41.5 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 78.3 FT%, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists
Team record: 14–2, 1–1 SEC
Thursday: Mississippi State 75, Auburn 53 — Started; 32 minutes, team-high 17 points, 6–10 FG, 3–7 3FG, 2–3 FT, 2 fouls, 3 assists, 3 turnovers
Sunday: (at) No. 8 Oklahoma 95, Mississippi State 43 — Started; 28:39, 7 points, 2–11 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, -39
Next game — 7:30 Thursday vs. No. 23 Tennessee
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 14 games, 2.1 points, 42.9 FG%, 1–3 3FG, 69.6 FT%, 3.0 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 steals
Team record: 10–4, 2–0 American
Tuesday: Tulsa 76, (at) Tulane 73 — 6 minutes, 5 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, +/- of 0
Next game — 7:30 Friday vs. Temple, ESPN+
Ian Jackson, St. John’s guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter, sharing time in a point-guard-by-committee mix
Season statistics — 15 games, 8 starts, 11.1 points, 43.4 FG%, 35.6 3P%, 90.3 FT%, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 10–5, 3–1 Big East
Tuesday: Providence 77, St. John’s 71 — Started; 22 minutes, 7 points, 2–8 FG, 1–3 3FG, 2–3 FT, 1 rebound, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 3 steals
Next game — 2 p.m. Saturday at Creighton, FS1
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 11.0 points, 54.9 FG%, 1–12 3FG, 70.7 FT%, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 15–1, 2–0 SEC; Rank: No. 6
Thursday: No. 6 Kentucky 80, (at) No. 5 LSU 78 — Started; 38:58, 17 points, 8–14 FG, 0–2 3FG, 1–1 FT, team-high 16 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, +1
Thursday: No. 6 Kentucky 74, Missouri 52 — Started; 22:10, 5 points, 2–6 FG, 1–2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, +10
Next game — 7 p.m. Thursday at Alabama
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 16 games, 16 starts, 12.3 points, 66.1 FG%, 3–8 3FG, 69.4 FT%, 6.8 rebounds
Team record: 11–5, 2–1 ACC
Saturday: Virginia 76, N.C. State 61 — Started; 29:43, 7 points, 2–6 FG, 0–1 3FG, 3–4 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers, -10
Tuesday: N.C. State 79, Boston College 71 — Started; 23:38, 7 points, 3–5 FG, 1–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 assist, 1 block, -1
Next game — noon Saturday at Florida State, ACC Network
Plays UNC —7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, ESPN or ESPN2
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 14.7 points, 52.8 FG%, 48.2 3P%, 78.3 FT%, 3.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Team record: 15–0, 2–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Wednesday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 96, No. 13 Alabama 90— Started; 26:50, 12 points, 4–8 FG, 1–4 3FG, 3–4 Ft, 1 rebound, 4 fouls, 1 assist, 1 block, +1
Next game — 1 p.m. Saturday vs. LSU, SEC Network
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting guard
Season statistics — 15 games, 9 starts, 11.0 points, 42.3 FG%, 27.1 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 7–9, 0–4 ACC
Tuesday: (at) No. 13 Louisville 91, SMU 58 — Started; 33:14, 20 points, 8–15 FG, 4–7 3FG, 0–1 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, -29
Sunday: Georgia Tech 67, SMU 59 — Started; 37:01, 12 points, 5–10 FG, 0–2 3FG, 2–4 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 4 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 steals, -3
Next game — 6 p.m. Sunday at N.C. State, ACC Network
Plays UNC — 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at Carmichael Arena, ACCN
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 14 games, 2.6 points, 50.0 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 50.0 FT%, 2.4 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 blocks, 2 steals
Team record: 9–7, 2–1 Southern Conference
Wednesday: Samford 82, Western Carolina 77 — 21 minutes (tied career-high), career-high 11 points, 4–7 FG (4 FGs career-high), 1–1 3FG, 2–2 FT (2 FTs ties career-high), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 fouls, 2 turnovers, 1 block, +7
Next game — 4:30 Saturday at Chattanooga
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 21.7 points, 52.2 FG%, 39.7 3P%, 81.6 FT%, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 10–5, 3–1 Big Ten
Tuesday: Minnesota 70, No. 19 Iowa 67 —Started; 32:24, 16 points, 5–12 FG, 2–5 3FG, 4–6 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 fouls, 3 assits, 2 steals, +/- of 0
Next game — 8:30 Friday vs. USC, Big Ten Network
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 15 games, 1 start, 10.1 points, 60.8 FG%, 29.4 3P%, 76.9 FT%, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 15–0, 2–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Wednesday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 96, No. 13 Alabama 90— Didn’t start; 9 points, 1–4 FG, 7–10 FT, 3 rebounds, 4 fouls, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, +5
Next game — 1 p.m. Saturday vs. LSU, SEC Network
Photo via @OleMissWBB
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